Honorable Mention: Seattle Mariners, 1995 American League Championship Series
This gets honorable mention because the 1995 Mariners qualified for “just happy to be here” status after making the playoffs for the first time in their history. Even then, it took an epic collapse by the Angels, capped off by a one-game playoff played at the Kingdome. The Mariners promptly dropped the first two games against the Yankees (more on them in a minute) in the division series on the road, before somehow winning the next three games at home. By the way, MLB playoff scheduling in the mid-’90s was really dumb. Like, epic levels of dumb.
After Edgar Martinez’s double that drove in the series-winning run, it seemed as if nothing could stop them. The Mariners even pulled off a minor miracle in Game 1 of the ALCS, when rookie Bob Wolcott shut down the Cleveland Indians. After that, the series wasn’t much of a contest. It was more of a bummer than a gut punch, though.
